Brennan Johnson and Dwight McNeil Swap: A New Start

Brennan Johnson has barely had time to unpack in south London and he’s on the move again. Eight months after Crystal Palace paid a reported club‑record £35 million to prise him from Tottenham, the Wales international has signed a four-year deal with Everton.

In a throwback of a deal, it’s a straight Premier League swap. Dwight McNeil heads the other way to Selhurst Park, Johnson to the Hill Dickinson Stadium. Two wingers, two stalled seasons, two clubs gambling that a change of scenery can jolt talent back to life.

Two careers stuck in neutral

Johnson’s Palace stint never caught fire. Twenty-six appearances in all competitions, not a single goal. For a player signed as a marquee attacking threat, it quickly turned into an awkward fit and an increasingly uncomfortable statistic.

McNeil’s story at Everton ran along the same flat line. Once tipped as a future star at Burnley, the 26-year-old failed to score in 25 outings for the Toffees last season. The swagger that once marked him out as one to watch simply never arrived on Merseyside.

Those numbers became the centrepiece of a brutal live radio takedown.

“We’ll give you crap, we’ll give you crap back”

On talkSPORT, former Tottenham midfielder Jamie O’Hara and ex-Aston Villa striker Gabriel Agbonlahor dissected the swap with little sympathy for either player.

“I like Dwight McNeil,” O’Hara said. “Brennan Johnson has been a myth for a few seasons. He didn’t do it at Spurs. He hides in games.”

Agbonlahor drilled into the statistics, pointing to the lack of goals and assists from both wingers last term. “You look at their output last season,” he said, before likening the deal to a basic exchange: “It’s a bit like ‘you give us him and we’ll give you him!’”

The tone only sharpened as the segment went on. The pair laughed as O’Hara delivered the line that would go viral: “We’ll give you crap, we’ll give you crap back!”

Clipped, posted and shared, the moment exploded on Instagram. Johnson saw it – and hit back.

Johnson’s eight-word punch

No long statement. No PR filter. Just eight words dropped into the comments section: “Won more than both of these put together.”

It was a pointed reminder from a 25-year-old who has already lifted more silverware than his critics, and a clear sign he has no intention of quietly absorbing the jibes.

The response forced O’Hara to clarify his stance the following morning on X. He argued the viral clip stripped away the nuance of the original discussion.

“This [is] the [problem] when you only listen to a clip and not full story,” he wrote. He stressed that the criticism was aimed squarely at last season’s numbers, not at Johnson or McNeil’s overall ability. “We were talking about Brennan and McNeil’s stats from last season which were CRAP not that they were bad players. I’m a fan of McNeill and also said Brennan has all the attributes but he would admit his season was crap.”

The message was clear: the talent is there, the output wasn’t.

Fresh starts, instant pressure

Now comes the hard part. Johnson arrives at Everton with a point to prove and a manager in David Moyes who demands work-rate and end product from his forwards. For all the noise online, the only answer that really matters will come on the pitch.

McNeil, meanwhile, gets his own reset button in south London. Selhurst Park has seen wide players revived before, and Palace will hope a new system and a new crowd can unlock the left-footer who once looked destined for the very top.

And there’s no slow easing-in period for either of them.

Everton and Crystal Palace meet on the opening weekend of the new Premier League season. An immediate reunion, a straight comparison, and a stage both wingers can’t avoid.

The swap will be judged quickly. Who turns the jeers into applause first?